Pages

Saturday, February 18, 2012

The Well-Fed Mind

The Well-Fed Mind

There is never a time when I appreciate the sun through my
windows more than in winter. Special notice is taken of where sunlight enters
the house – at what window - at what hour.

Soft morning light enters the picture window over the
kitchen sink while I make breakfast. By noon the sun shines directly through
the little attic windows of my office/sewing room where I am writing to you
now. It filters through the leafless trees and brightens the parlor in late
afternoon. As it begins to set lazily, it lends its light to the blown glass at
the front door.

Coming down the stairs this light always catches my notice
with its strange distorted rays in the front hall. For one fleeting half-hour it illuminates the picture hanging there (which changes at a whim).

This month it is a print by Tasha Tudor. A mother is feeding
her children. She wears a smile. We see the quiet joy she has in
satisfying the appetites of those she loves.

In chapter two of her Philosophy of Education Miss Charlotte Mason recognizes that mothers have an
understanding of the baby.

“They know that his chief business is to grow and they feed
him . . . They give free play to all the wrigglings and stretchings which give
power to his feeble muscles. His parents know what he will come to, and feel
that here is a new chance for the world. In the meantime, he needs food, sleep
and shelter and a great deal of love.”

Wholesome Nourishment

In her writings Charlotte Mason shows what parents and
teachers owe to a child in his later years - “those years in which he is engaged in self-education,
taking his lessons from everything he sees and hears, and strengthening his
powers by everything he does.” She repeats herself when she says that, “mind
must come into contact with mind through the medium of ideas.”

“Education, like faith, is the evidence of things not seen,”
is a curious saying of hers.

Education involves intangibles. Therefore Miss Mason offers
an analogy. As the body is meant to grow upon food, which is composed of
individual living cells - in like manner the only fit sustenance for the
mind is ideas. Like the cells of the body
an idea goes through stages of development. We receive an idea with an appetite
and some stir of interest. Then, by association, another facet of an idea is
added and like my grandson’s snowball, it grows and grows, layer by layer.* The
more a child learns the more associations he automatically makes. Teachers who
trust in the well-fed mind need
not depend on elaborate lesson plans where all subjects are made to correlate
in as many ways as possible.

Mind Set in Motion

Ideas snowball in the mind of a child. They are not
stationary, not stagnant. They come to children through various means; through
observing nature, appreciating art, and melody; through the rhythmic movement
of games, handicrafts, good conversation (not text-messaging), a Sunday sermon,
etc. Most importantly they are found in living books. Through books of
literary-quality a child gains knowledge mind-to-mind. Miss Mason recommends
quality, variety and quantity.

A good remedy for boredom and inattention is a revitalizing
presentation of ideas.

Intellectual vitality
(something necessary for gaining knowledge “for keeps” – for making knowledge
personal) is set in motion when ideas are present.

The Living Book Test

It is safe to say that a living book is authored by someone
who takes an enthusiastic interest in his subject. If the book is for children
the facts might be related in story form. But they are always clothed in literary
language. The test of identifying a living book is like the test of good
literature in general. It must be three things. It must bring truth,
nobility, and beauty.

It is not dumbed-down but is somewhat intellectual and
brings truth.

It is ethical so that we are well-nourished with noble
ideas.

It is also artistic and makes its appeal through the
emotions.

The Human Touch

Charlotte Mason reminds us that, “children are born
persons.” As human beings the style of writing that appeals to them is that
which includes the human touch. So we look for books with that touch of
originality – books that warm up the imagination. This kind of writing will
satisfy a child’s curiosity and foster a love of learning. For all its
vivifying features a living book has the right to be called a schoolbook.

Lassie Come Home

One advantage of home teaching (and it is a big advantage) is that the parents are the ones who choose off the world’s menu of
ideas. They pick the schoolbooks.

Eric Knight’s, Lassie Come Home is one example of a book that passes the living book
test. If you’d like your child to have an understanding of devotion, courage,
hope, brotherly kindness and perseverance this story is a touching example of
it. Published in 1940, this is the original story that made Lassie a legend. We
made it a read-aloud in our family.

In a certain Yorkshire village there is no finer dog than
Lassie. She is a well-trained, well-loved purebred collie – a dog admired by
the whole village for her beauty and obedience. When a coalmine closes Joe’s
father is out-of-work. Down cast he sells Lassie to put food on the table.
Young Joe takes it hard. What makes it harder is that after she is sold to a
wealthy duke, Lassie escapes from her kennel three times. Joe and his father
must return her.

The duke has Lassie moved to his other estate way up in the
north of Scotland so she will never escape again. But Lassie’s instinct is
strong – especially her time-sense. It was her habit to meet Joe at exactly
four o’clock at the schoolhouse every day. Therefore, near four o’clock when
Lassie is restless, she slips through the gate and heads south to Yorkshire -
to Joe and his family - with unwavering purpose.

It is a long, long way to Yorkshire. Lassie climbs hills and
crosses streams. It is only when she collapses in utter exhaustion and is fed
by gentle, caring persons that she stays awhile. With strength regained and a
steady determination she sets off again. Parts of the story are somewhat
grueling which might make it unsuitable at bedtime for your youngest listeners. It has
a happy ending (even if imperfectly so.)

The classic 1943 MGM film starring young Elizabeth Taylor
and Roddy McDowell closely follows the book and is the one I recommend. It will
introduce you to the characters. This beautiful motion picture is one that
brought a tear to my eye.

*My son-in-law continued to push the snowball until it
became enormous - to his son’s amazement. We were standing in the driveway when
the clip-clop of a neighbor’s horse and buggy stole our attention. William was
mesmerized. I snapped a photograph in the nick of time.

May you leave your visit here today with a little seed of an idea
slipped into your pocket.

14 comments:

Can't wait to read this book to my kids. I've heard of it, of course, and seen the old TV show, but we've never read it. I wish we had enough snow to build a snowman, but it keeps disappearing on us. Thank you for your lovely blog.

Hi Karen!What beautiful snow. We kept a small snowman in our freezer for several years. My son made him one winter's day that suddenly turned much too warm for the snowman. I like William's (and his Daddy's) snowman.

I also like the idea of joy in satisfying the appetites of those we love.

When I discovered the writings of Charlotte Mason, it was as if I was set free to truly share with my children, the joy I have always found in books. In real books, not on textbooks of any kind.

I have been homeschooling my children now for over 10 years, and have yet to use a textbook. My oldest is a junior in high school and my middle child is in 8th grade. Both have a love for books that have flowed down to their individual personalities.

Thank you Karen for encouraging all of us to continue on our vocation.

Oh this post makes me want to quickly get a copy of this book. Because of CM I have read books with my boys that I never read growing up. Thank you for being such a inspiration to me in my homeschooling. It was your book I picked up my first couple years in our families homeschooling journey.

I too would be mesmerized if I saw a horse and buggy like that. You live in a beautiful part of the world indeed and your home is so quaint. Thank you for sharing with us.

So encouraging!!! Speaking of seeds...my husband has been sharing his love of studying the various World Wars with my children...I wondered how much was sinking in, so to speak. Yesterday, I found them all sitting together on the floor, with all of my husband's HUGE World War books out and talking about specific planes & battleships. They were also discussing the Battle of Midway! :) They know more about it than I do, that's for sure! It really encouraged me and spurred me on to continue reading wonderful books and just talking with them all the time. They are little sponges soaking it all up! :)

Your photos are beautiful...I especially like the snowman profile. We just watched the Lassie movie you mentioned a few weeks ago and loved it. It has always been a favorite of my mom's. We never have read the book, though. Thank you for the inspiration, Karen!